NV 2.0

[EmeraldReporter]

Yes, there is more SMR 800 MHz band spectrum, but via rebanding, it is currently set aside for Public Safety and other uses.

 

AJ

Which effectively means that there is no more purchasable spectrum right?

[EmeraldReporter]

...Having GSM on board comes at no additional cost.

 

AJ

Money cost doesn't matter, what I was getting at is whether removing the GSM/EDGE internals would make more room for more things like for other bands, right?

[WiWavelength]

Which effectively means that there is no more purchasable spectrum right?

 

No, not exactly.  You said, unequivocally, "[t]here is no more 800Mhz SMR."  But that is quite different from there is no more SMR 800 MHz spectrum available to Sprint for broadband operations, such as CDMA1X and LTE.  In actuality, there is more SMR 800 MHz available outside of the rebanded Public Safety allotment.  But that spectrum is suited only to narrowband, high site operations, such as iDEN.

 

AJ

[Nickel]

No, not exactly.  You said, unequivocally, "[t]here is no more 800Mhz SMR."  But that is quite different from there is no more SMR 800 MHz spectrum available to Sprint for broadband operations, such as CDMA1X and LTE.  In actuality, there is more SMR 800 MHz available outside of the rebanded Public Safety allotment.  But that spectrum is suited only to narrowband, high site operations, such as iDEN.

 

AJ

I thought Sprint was supposed to get some SMR back once the they have fully rebranded it?

[EmeraldReporter]

No, not exactly. You said, unequivocally...

 

 

I'll make sure to be more precise with my words. I thank you for your insight so far.

[MacPCS]

I thought Sprint was supposed to get some SMR back once the they have fully rebranded it?

they freed all of it up already when they shut down the Nextel network. There is nothing else for them to free up. They have enough for a CDMA1X Advanced carrier and a 5x5 LTE carrier as well. There are some places where they have to do 3x3 but the majority is 5MHz.

 

For their stated goal of a fallback from the higher frequency spectrum that's all they really need. It's not supposed to serve all of their customers all of the time like 1900 and 2.5. 1900 you can easily make the case that they need more. That's why the H block will be appealing and they have been acquiring some as well (See: US Cellular transaction).

[koiulpoi]

I thought the whole point of going after 600 MHz was to get some decent sub-GHz spectrum that works inside the IBEZ. There are a whole lot of people who'll presumably never see the 800 lovin' due to being too close to Canada or Mexico...

[thensley1983]

i feel that when they buy 600 or bid on it if they get the 600 spectrum then you will see them sell off their 800 spectrum and opt for it since they will have more nationwide coverage with the 600 spectrum  then with their very limited 800 band also the 600 band will give them upgradeability where as the 800 band is basically maxed out with no future capacity available a sprint with 600 1900 and 2500 looks better then a sprint with 800 1900 and 2500 but that is 2 years away lets hope they get the pcs H block and then have their NV2.0 build out almost complete when they try for the 600 band and already stealing cust from verizon and att at that point 

[ryry4ya]

i feel that when they buy 600 or bid on it if they get the 600 spectrum then you will see them sell off their 800 spectrum and opt for it since they will have more nationwide coverage with the 600 spectrum then with their very limited 800 band also the 600 band will give them upgradeability where as the 800 band is basically maxed out with no future capacity available a sprint with 600 1900 and 2500 looks better then a sprint with 800 1900 and 2500 but that is 2 years away lets hope they get the pcs H block and then have their NV2.0 build out almost complete when they try for the 600 band and already stealing cust from verizon and att at that point

shit I gotta buy a quad band phone now

 

Sent from my Verizon Roaming Beast

 

 

[The Dave]

Getting rid of their 800 mhz would negate a huge part of the whole reason they spent the time and money to upgrade their network. All of their equipment in Network Vision is built for dual 800/1900 mhz and all of the phones sold since 2011 utilize 800 mhz. I don't see Sprint opting for that course of action if they acquired any 600 mhz.

[thensley1983]

Getting rid of their 800 mhz would negate a huge part of the whole reason they spent the time and money to upgrade their network. All of their equipment in Network Vision is built for dual 800/1900 mhz and all of the phones sold since 2011 utilize 800 mhz. I don't see Sprint opting for that course of action if they acquired any 600 mhz.

anything that deals with the 600 band would probably not be fully realized for 4 to 6 years from now something like they buy the 600 band in 2014/2015 start adding that band to their network 2016 probably add phones with that support mid 2016 keep the 800 band support till about 2019 but no new phones with that support from the point they bring out the 600 band tri band  phones and they sell the 800 band in 2020 we are talking  6 to 7 years before they sell it   

[Boosted20V]

800mhz is Sprint's prized possession. It's the only thing that puts them on the same level as T and VZ. They would never get rid of it.

[Nickel]

I agree. Sprint needs 600 and I heard they plan to use 600 for TD LTE so I wonder if they will use the 600/2500 for LTE advance

I doubt they end up using TD-LTE for 600. Also, you have to remember that Sprint will upgrade all it's LTE to LTE-A because the difference from rel. 9 and 10 is just a software upgrade.

[IamMrFamous07]

I doubt they end up using TD-LTE for 600. Also, you have to remember that Sprint will upgrade all it's LTE to LTE-A because the difference from rel. 9 and 10 is just a software upgrade.

http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7022112071

 

They stated they wanted TDD lte for the band

[Nickel]

http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7022112071

 

They stated they wanted TDD lte for the band

Yes, Sprint wants TDD but nobody else really does. Of course, if they don't get enough spectrum they might be forced to use TDD but that's a worst case scenario.

[mozamcrew]

Sprint really has two choices:

They can participate in the 600 Mhz auction, or they can try to cobble together some 700 Mhz spectrum. If they can acquire enough 700 Mhz spectrum at a reasonable cost, they don't need to participate in the 600 Mhz auction.

 

If I were Sprint, I might cut a deal with ATT. I'd offer to take all their 700Mhz A block licenses off of their hands for a reasonable price. ATT would get $$$, eliminate a bidder in the 600 Mhz auction, and gain roaming customers on their band 12 LTE network. In areas where ATT doesn't own the A block currently, it is usually owned by a regional carrier, thus meaning Sprint should have two different roaming choices in the markets where it DOESN'T have A Block licenses. Hopefully this will mean lower roaming costs for Sprint. Since most of the regional carriers have settled on band 12, this would be a good way for Sprint to cozy up to them and give them roaming options beyond ATT and VZW.

[MacPCS]

There is a third option.  Ignore the 600MHz auction and focus on the PCS H-Block auction.  Let T-Mo have the 600MHz frequency.   Focus on everything else you're cobbling together to make a new network rather than requiring a quad-band phone down the line to work on the full network.  

[koiulpoi]

There is a third option.  Ignore the 600MHz auction and focus on the PCS H-Block auction.  Let T-Mo have the 600MHz frequency.   Focus on everything else you're cobbling together to make a new network rather than requiring a quad-band phone down the line to work on the full network.  

Previously, I would have said it's madness to not go after more low-frequency spectrum. However, with the announcement of building out spacing for 2500 in many metro areas, concentrating more in to PCS could definitely be a worthwhile thing.

 

Still, it would be a godsend for many rural areas - if it's that much better than 800 MHz. I'm waiting for AJ to chime in and yell at me about free space path loss.

[WiWavelength]

If I were Sprint, I might cut a deal with ATT. I'd offer to take all their 700Mhz A block licenses off of their hands for a reasonable price.

 

AT&T does not hold any Lower 700 MHz A block licenses.  To this point, it has avoided them like the plague.

 

AJ

[WiWavelength]

Still, it would be a godsend for many rural areas - if it's that much better than 800 MHz. I'm waiting for AJ to chime in and yell at me about free space path loss.

 

No, I cannot effectively yell at you.  The path loss between Kansas and Michigan is too great.

 

AJ

[koiulpoi]

No, I cannot effectively yell at you.  The path loss between Kansas and Michigan is too great.

 

AJ

Pfffft okay, I lost it here at work when I got the email reply to this. Thanks, AJ, everyone's looking at me weird. I'd explain it but... 

[Mobilesolutions]

Yes, Sprint wants TDD but nobody else really does. Of course, if they don't get enough spectrum they might be forced to use TDD but that's a worst case scenario.

 

TDD is the future.  

-Will

[WiWavelength]

Pfffft okay, I lost it here at work when I got the email reply to this. Thanks, AJ, everyone's looking at me weird. I'd explain it but... 

 

Sounds waves, just like electromagnetic waves, are subject to the inverse square law.  Plus, we have that whole non smooth, curved Earth thing going on.  Yeah, I really do not want to calculate the 125 Hz longitudinal wave path loss between here and Michigan.  Let us just say that it is massive -- something on the order of T-Mobile signal path loss.

 

 

AJ

[supersanborn]

Sounds waves, just like electromagnetic waves, are subject to the inverse square law. Plus, we have that whole non smooth, curved Earth thing going on. Yeah, I really do not want to calculate the 125 Hz longitudinal wave path loss between here and Michigan. Let us just say that it is massive -- something on the order of T-Mobile signal path loss.

 

 

AJ

Burn!!!

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 4

 

 

[mozamcrew]

AT&T does not hold any Lower 700 MHz A block licenses.  To this point, it has avoided them like the plague.

 

AJ

I thought Verizon sold a bunch of them to ATT when it divested all of it's lower 700Mhz licenses as part of it's deal to acquire the AWS spectrum from the Spectrum Co? I know most of block A is owned by US Cell or other regionals, but I thought Verizon did have some and sold them to ATT.